Curious
by SetsunaNoroi
Summary: A little romance for a cute couple in my opinion. Aeris is curious about why that Turks act the way they do. In wodering she finds love. AerisReno


'Ello. I'm back and in only a short amount of time. Turns out I was correct, one-shots are easier and faster to write for me. I got the idea for this fic from a fan art picture I saw of Reno and Aeris walking down this forest path together with her wearing his jacket. (Unfortunately I don't know who did it so I can't give proper credit. But if whoever drew it reads this I want you to know that you were my inspiration and this fic is for you.)

Anyway, when I saw it I thought to myself that the couple was cute but it had the problem of it just couldn't happen. They give you no indication in the game that it could happen. Then it occurred to me. DUMMY! You write fan fiction! Make it happen! So I took some scenes that had (or at least could have if you had her in your party) both Aeris and Reno in it and slightly modified them for my and the fan's pleasure, because lets face it, there isn't enough Re/A out there.

And now for the sad part, …WAAH! I can't do it! Rude, you do it.

Rude: …

Come on. This is what I hired you for.

Rude: She doesn't own FF7. Square soft does. Don't sue…Am I done?

Yes, thank you. I'll get the 5,000 Gil in your account tonight.

Now, to the story. Hehe.

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As the last barrel smashed in the remaining guard, Aeris sighed in relief. She had forgotten her attack materia at home and she was in no way a hand-to-hand fighter. Thankful that Cloud had not left her to fend for herself since he had no time to get down there, she began to ascend the stairs.

At least, she would have if not for the two hands that grabbed her around her waist and mouth. Her shout was muffled and not heard by Cloud, who she was terrified to see was coming down but in such a pace that the man who grabbed her would easily drag her away in time.

"Relax," the man whispered into her ear after he pulled her close into his chest. She could smell cologne of some type but couldn't determine what brand it was. Probably from the Plate. His voice was smooth and full of confidence making her recognized it as Reno's. If it hadn't been for the fact he was always trying to kidnap her she might have found it cute. "I can't help but be curious… that guy is from SOLDEIR but he's protecting you. So I'll let you go for now and see how this little drama plays out. Tseng didn't really want me to go anyway."

And with that he let her go and when she turned around she saw him stalking out of the back of the church to the front. She shook her head to clear it a little and quickly ran up the stairs to get to Cloud.

"You okay?" he asked when she reached him.

"Yeah. We should leave," she replied as she decided it would do no good to mention how the Turk had let her go.

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Aeris saw Tifa blush at the confession that she, Tifa, and Cloud had just heard in the Gongaga jungle. Rude liked Tifa, who'd have thought? But neither girl had time to contemplate this new piece of information much before Elena suddenly walked up on them and for some reason started saying how they always talk about things like that. She realized she's speaking to the enemy and rushed off to warn the others.

The taunts were exchanged quickly and Aeris wondered if Cloud really didn't remember Reno or was just playing dumb to make him mad. It didn't matter as they were soon getting rushed by the two. Tifa was immediately having to fend off Rude and Aeris only had moments to watch Cloud jump to her aid before she had to bring up her staff up in time to block Reno's Electro-mag Rod.

The Turk was stronger than her and in no time Aeris' arms were beginning to lose space between her and him as he continued to push down. Just as the metal of her weapon was about to touch her face he pulled his rod upward, leaving her to stagger at the sudden loss of weight and kicked her in the stomach. Tumbling backwards, she slammed into a tree and gasped.

She raised her head slowly to see Reno advancing on her in a carefree walk. His ever-present smirk was plastered on his face. She smirked as well. He was taking his time in fighting her. It was a mistake on his part. The Lightning materia on her staff began to glow and before Reno even realized what it was that she was planning she stood and cried "BOLT!"

The blaze of the Bolt 2 spell that Aeris was now glad that she had put so much effort into learning caught Reno off guard. He tried his best to dodge but the electricity was still too fast and made contact. The spell had stunned him enough for her to see Rude shoving his fist into Tifa's gut in what must have been a very painful punch. This seemed to enrage Cloud as he let out a howl of fury and swung his blade at Rude and would have cleaved the man in half if not for him jumping back just in time.

"That's enough," Reno said as he straightened up from the spell he had just suffered. Though he was speaking to Rude, he still had his eyes locked on Aeris. Had he just winked at her? "You know our orders Rude. Let's go."

His companion nodded silently and the two were running off. Aeris quickly ran over to Tifa who had a very colorful bruise appearing on her stomach and was sitting where she had been knocked down. Cloud was already crouched by her side and though he didn't say anything Aeries could easily see the anger that decorated his face. For some reason seeing that made her incredibly sad.

"Are you alright Tifa? Don't worry, I'll cast a Cure spell on you," Aeris said to what she was quickly beginning to think of as her best friend.

Tifa gave a small thanks and as the Cetra began to get to work her thoughts wandered. So Rude cared about her, huh? She knew that it couldn't have been a bluff in an attempt to throw Tifa off guard just because Cloud and the rest of them showed up. Though she had never formally met the man she knew from the many times he had tried to capture her that he was a man of few words and even fewer lies. If he said that he liked Tifa then he liked her.

Yet he had still attacked her. The Turks seemed so devoted to their work that they were willing to fight even the ones they cared about to get the job done. She didn't know if that was admirable or despicable. Anyone else of Avalanche probably would have said it disgusted them but the more forgiving nature that Aeris possessed made her think about it before just codeming them.

And she remembered Tseng. They had cared for one another once and apparently from what Reno had said he still had feelings for her. He took his job seriously and tried at every opportunity to kidnap her. It seemed that he was able to put his work ahead of his own feelings or concerns. She wondered if they were all like that? Was Reno?

She would have gasped at that sudden thought if Tifa had not caught her attention.

"Aeris," she said, "you can stop now. I healed fully almost two minutes ago."

"Oh," Aeris said and let her hands fall to her side. "Right."

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Aeris let out a small whimper as a she drank down a Potion supplied to her from Vincent. The drink burned her throat and the bitter aftertaste was no better. She had once again received a reason why she liked her magic better. The last battle had been tough and she had been quite damaged from it. Her Restore materia would have taken care of the problem in only moments but the drink was a slightly longer process. Yes, magic was better.

Not that she really had the chance to use her magic. All of the team's materia had been snatched by Yuffie earlier. Aeris had always thought that the young girl was a bit of a brat but goodhearted and sweet deep down. Never would she have thought that the girl would do such a thing to the group. And to make matters worse was that she was so bad in a fight without magic.

The only reason Cloud had thought they should take her along was that they were so far from the Tiny Bronco already. Aeris would never be able to get back on her own and giving her Vincent as an escort like Cloud had originally suggested would leave him alone to fend for himself. Usually that wouldn't be so bad but this was unknown territory to them and Aeris had refused to let her bodyguard be put in any unnecessary danger. There wasn't time to call anyone on the PHS and wait around for somebody to get Aeris as Yuffie had already had a good head start from the battle with the ShinRa soldiers and even her waiting by herself was a bad idea.

So she would have to come along. Besides, she was the only one who would be able to heal them without magic if the Potions ran out. Her Healing Wind technique was not yet ready but she could feel it building up with every hit she took.

"Are you ready?" Vincent asked as the Potion finished taking affect.

She nodded happily to him and stood up from where she had been crouching. Cloud stood ahead, waiting in both patience and silence. She couldn't tell from here but she had a small feeling in her gut that told her that he was scowling. Was she being too inconvenient for his tastes?

"Let's go," she said to Vincent, doing her best to show she wouldn't slow down the group.

Without a word the three began on their long trek again. She eyed the dark and slightly chilling man that was next to her. She had not met him in the mansion, being in the inn of Nibelheim while Barret and Red XIII accompanied Cloud. All she knew was that he was involved with Sephiroth origins somehow, had suffered from Hojo's twisted experiments, and was a former Turk. The last fact is what probably interested her the most.

"Yes?" he asked even though he had not looked at the girl once. His face was pointed only in the direction of their travel but such actions from him were to be expected.

"I was wondering," she started, "what does it mean to be a Turk?"

"I haven't walked that path for a long time. But if it means the same thing it did when I still worked for ShinRa them I'm sure that my actions are enough and words aren't needed." His answer was simple but it answered her question. She had been right.

"I don't think I could do it. Just turn off my emotions and do my job like I was some kind of machine," she said.

"There are few who can," he told her. "The job is demanding, physically and emotionally. Maybe even more difficult than joining SOLDEIR 1st class."

She looked down at the ground and sighed. All of her life she had been pursued by ShinRa, by the Turks. She had hated them in a way, as disgusted as she was to admit it. But now something else was beginning to sprout in her heart. Sympathy? No, everyone chooses his or her own path and destiny, even her. She could have easily run and ignored her responsibilities. They didn't need sympathy.

Maybe it was that she just wanted to understand.

"She'll have stopped there, no doubt about it," Cloud said, breaking through her thoughts.

Aeris looked up and saw in the not to far distance a town. It was the only one that they had come across since this whole little adventure began. She was glad, the sooner she had her materia back the better.

The second they stepped into town they saw Yuffie. She had been walking around casually and seemed shocked to see them. No doubt she thought it would've taken them longer to get to the town than it had, or that they would not have made it at all. She ran off to hide left the others to follow.

"You think she might have hid in there?" Aeris asked pointing to a building with a sign that read 'Turtle's Paradise'.

"It's a good of a place to start as any," Cloud replied and they went in.

Aeris gasped as she saw the Turks sitting at a table having drinks. The first thing she needed to understand about them was how they always had a knack for showing up at the most inconvenient time.

Elena saw the three of them and almost sent her chair flying from standing up.

"You? What are you doing here? Never mind that. I guess its fate that brought us together. (A/N Nope, just a materia thief.) Prepare to die!" she cried.

Cloud, Aeris, and Vincent brought out their weapons as the bar manager looked incredibly worried by the potential of a bar fight breaking out.

"Elena, you talk too much," Reno said from his drink, surprising four different people. "Why did we come so far out here in the first place?"

"To take a vacation and rest from our pursuit in Sephiroth," she answered slowly.

"Right. And now your little outburst ruined it."

"Even the beer tastes bad now," Rude agreed.

Elena hung her head. "Sorry," she said and then turned to Cloud and the others. "You got lucky this time but next time we meet we wont be so nice."

Cloud shrugged and turned to leave. The other two followed him out but not before Aeris heard Reno and Rude toast each other.

'Hmm, so their not just machines for their jobs. At least, not all of them," she thought silently. 'I wonder if Tseng would have fought.'

"Never would've thought he'd actually get in," Vincent said.

"What?" she asked him.

"Reno. I trained him, though he probably doesn't recognize me now. Wanted to be a Turk pretty badly but he was always so nonchalant and mouthy. Never took his work seriously. I see he hasn't changed."

"He has," Aeris found herself saying. "When he's not off duty."

Trying to find Yuffie was pretty uneventful. She kept running off when they saw her. They couldn't even catch her when they had gone to her father's house and she had shown up, screaming like a banshee. Aeris had to admit, after they finally trapped the young ninja girl and heard her story she felt a little bad. But the feeling quickly went away as the steel gate came crashing down and trapped them.

And so they were off again on the little goose chase. Aeris was getting a little torked now. Yuffie was really pushing it.

"Hey, there wasn't a door there before," she cried pointing at the base of a small bell tower.

"What do you think the chances are of her hiding out in there are?" Cloud asked.

"Pretty high," Vincent answered.

She was in there, but so was someone that Aeris had hoped she would never meet again. Don Corneo of Wall Market. And with him two men carrying both Yuffie and…

"Elena?" she asked.

"Two for one!" Don squealed happily in that annoyingly stupid voice of his. He ignored Elena shouting how she was a Turk and that he wasn't going to get away with this. Aeris was sure everyone had.

'But,' she thought, ' if she's here than where are the other two? They must still be in the bar!'

"Cloud," she cried suddenly. "I have to go! I'll be right back!"

And before the leader even had a chance to protest she was running out the way they had come and was heading for Turtle's Paradise. She opened the door and went up to Reno, a little out of breath. He looked up at her.

"I may be off duty but I don't feel like drinking with you and your friends," he said before he noticed she was alone. "Where's Cloud?"

"Elena got kidnapped," Aeris said. "By Don Corneo. She might be in trouble. You need to help her."

The playful look in his eye turned serious and he stood up with Rude. "Let's go."

She led them back to the place where Yuffie had been snatched only to see Cloud and Vincent coming out from Godo's house.

"What happened?" she asked them.

"Corneo's gone. So is Yuffie," Cloud answered.

"Hmm, seems he's good at escaping," Reno said.

"Wait, what are you two doing here?" he growled.

"… Elena," Rude replied.

"Little pink bird told us. So, you're after Don too? Uh, I don't suppose…" Reno trailed off, probably not sure how to say it.

"We won't harm Elena," Vincent said.

"Good. And keep in mind that we have no intention of joining you. This only temporary. And we'll leave that girl Yuffie alone… for now."

"We have no plan on joining the Turks either," Cloud said. "But uh, where would Don go anyway?"

"Probably the place that stands out most," Reno replied before he and Rude ran off.

"What?" Cloud asked before Vincent pointed up at the mountain Da-chao. "Oh, right. Why did you go to get them, Aeris?"

"Does it matter?" she asked him. "We have to find Yuffie."

She ran off towards Da-chao with Cloud and Vincent tailing her. The two Turks were waiting for them the bottom of the mountain.

"What took you so long?" Reno asked. "We're gonna split up. You guys do whatever you want."

Aside from bumping into Reno and Rude a few times there really wasn't much of a problem. They had found Don and after an incredibly dumb speech they were faced against what looked to be a Dragon on a low fat diet named Rapps. It was tough, but over quickly. Aeris had used her Seal Evil technique instead of healing the party and after that Cloud simply slashed the thing open with his sword. It bothered her that Don Corneo didn't seemed worried though.

"You're sure you're gonna win, right?" Cloud answered after Don gave them his little 'pop quiz'.

"Ding ding," the pimp said and pulled something out of his sleeve. "That's correct!"

He pushed the button on the gadget he was holding and suddenly the support for both of the girl's broke free of the rocky surface. Yuffie screamed as both her and Elena were now only hanging by their ankles.

"I press one more button and they both fall upside down. Just like squashed tomatoes!' Don exclaimed gleefully.

"Damn," Cloud said angrily as all three of them lowered their weapons.

"Good, good," now hand over you're woman," Don ordered.

"What?" With this Cloud almost grabbed his sword again but Aeris shook her head.

"It's alright," she said. "I'll go with you, just don't hurt Yuffie or Elena."

But just as she was about to take a step forward something grabbed her around her wrist and stopped her. She looked around to see Reno.

"Don't be so overly dramatic. I'll take care of this," he told her. He let go of her wrist and started to advance on the old letch.

"Stay back!" Don almost squeaked in fright. "Don't forget that I have the girls as hostages."

The threat didn't seem to bother Reno at all and a moment latter Rude appeared on the scene with a flying dagger. He hurled it with deadly accuracy and Aeris had to try very hard not to look away as it plunged into Don's wrist. He gave a sort of half scream and fell from the cliff face, only barely catching the ledge with his hands.

"Good timing Rude," Reno called to his friend and then turned his attention to his prey. "You should have known this was coming from the moment you leaked the secret in Sector 6. This'll be over quick, so listen up. Why do you think we would go to all the trouble of joining up with these guys just to track you down? 1.Because we were sure we would die. 2. Because we were sure of victory. 3. Because we were clueless."

Aeris was quite sure she had heard him snort at the last option.

"Uh, 2. Number 2?" Don cried, as if he got it right he would live.

"Wrong. The correct answer was-"

Reno stepped on Don's already slipping hand and he fell to what Aeris knew was his death.

"It's our job," Rude finished.

"Thank you," Aeirs said gratefully but she was not sure if she had been heard.

"Guys. I didn't think you would come," Elena said.

"Elena, you're a Turk. Don't act so weak," Reno scolded.

"Oh! Sorry."

The PHS in Reno's jacket rang and he answered it as calmly as if he was in an office rather than in Wutai where he had just killed a man.

"Yeah?" he asked. "Right."

He hung up.

"Was that the company?" Elena asked seemingly more interested in that than the fact that her face was slowly turning purple.

"Yeah. They want us to track down Cloud and the others."

Cloud immediately got in a stance to fight but Rude scratched his head.

"Reno are we on…" he said trailing off.

The young Turk shook his head. "No. We're off duty."

"Hey!" screamed Yuffie breaking the odd silence. "Who cares about that? Get me down!"

Aeris shook her head in exasperation as Rude went over to untie them and help them up. He paused for a minute at Yuffie, probably wondering if it was all right to unleash her on the world again, before he helped her as well.

"Let's go then," said Cloud and Vincent and Yuffie followed him down.

Aeiris hesitated a moment and then turned to the Turks. Reno raised an eyebrow.

"I-" she said before Yuffie ran back up.

"Aeris what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

And Aeris was drug off from her perfect opportunity to understand the Turks.

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They were still there and Aeris practically screamed for joy. She had told the group while Yuffie went up that tower for training or whatever it was that she just wanted to sleep. They had left and just a few minutes latter she was heading off to Turtle's Paradise. And the Turks were still there. But they looked like they were getting ready to leave.

Talk about in the knick of time.

She walked up to Reno who was in the middle and paying the tab, and gently tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and looked a tad surprised. Elena and Rude… well Elena did too. She wasn't sure about Rude with those sunglasses of his. She wondered briefly if she should try and tell him in private that Tifa had accidentally let it slip that she thought that hi habit was cute. No, that was none of her business.

"Off duty?" she asked and suddenly realized how much trouble she was in if they weren't. Even with the materia she had it was still three-on-one.

"Until we get to Midgar," Reno replied.

"State your business, Ancient," Elena said trying desperately to sound professional. Aeris looked at her and almost laughed.

"Reno we're gonna go. See you latter," Rude said and steered a confused Elena out of the bar.

"So, what's up?' Reno asked as if they were friends and not enemies.

"I wanted to thank you," she said looking away and suddenly playing around with her fingers. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden?

"I heard you on Da-chao," he said, making her fell incredibly foolish.

"Well, I was just hoping that there was something I could do to thank you," she said.

"How about a flower," he said.

"What?" she asked looking up at him.

"You sell flowers right?" she nodded. "Well, even on the Plate, plant life is scarce. So give me a flower."

"I don't have any on me," she said.

"That's alright. Give me one once you get back to Midgar. I wanted one from the church anyway."

"You mean the ones you stepped on?" she asked and he was kind enough to look sheepish.

"Sorry," he mumbled. He sounded so different from usual. She was shocked.

"It's alright." She wondered just exactly was she supposed to say. I'll see you latter just seemed foreboding and a goodbye was too simple.

"You should go," Reno said, saving her from her predicament. "They'll be waiting for you."

Aeris nodded and left. The conversation had not been what she had hoped for. And now the Turks seemed even more confusing.

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Aeris knelt in prayer, begging Holy to rescue the planet from Meteor. But a twang of guilt was among all of her concentration. She was not foolish. She knew Sephiroth was laying in wait above her, going to kill her. The planet had told her since she was a child. She had told Cloud that she would be back as a lie to make him feel better.

But she knew that he would be all right. She had seen Cloud and Tifa together at the Golden Saucer, having a date. She had been heading to his room for the exact same reason. But she had realized that it did not hurt. She was happy for them. And she knew that when she was gone that Tifa would take care of him.

She waited patiently as Cloud ascended the stairs and lifted his sword. She wasn't afraid. The death stroke would be from much higher up. And down the fallen angle came, when Cloud could not do it. It was quick and she silently thanked him for that. She had felt little pain.

The pain didn't come from the sword though. It was from her guilt. She had lied to him. Lied to the person she had realized she loved. Reno would never get that flower.

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Aeris knew he was here before he did. He was lying on her flowers, unconscious. She giggled and his eyes fluttered open.

"Hello Reno," she said to the Turk in his blue suit.

"Aeris?" he whispered. "What…"

"You're in the Lifestream," she told him. "My heaven to be exact."

He sat up and looked around at the church she was in. It looked exactly like the one he had first tried to chase her down in. He gave her a confused look. She giggled again from her knelt position newt to him.

"When some one dies and enters the Lifestream only the spark that starts life is… recycled for lack of a better term. The conscious of a person stays and they can create their own afterlife. It's usually where they felt most comfortable in life but not always," she explained.

"Does this mean that I've died?" he asked her. The last thing he remembered was Meteor falling toward Midgar.

She shook her head.

"You're in a comma, nothing more. You hit you're head pretty hard but Rude and Elena are looking after you."

"Then why am I in the Lifestream?"

"Everyone is connected to the Planet. It's just hard for most people to speak with it, that's all. But it's much easier when some one's mind is relaxed, like when they're asleep," she said.

"Or in a comma," he added, making her go into another fit of giggles while she nodded. "But I still don't understand. Why am I here?"

"Because," she said with a blush, "I asked the Planet if I could speak with you. I wanted to see you one last time so I could give you this."

And she held out a flower to him. It was a rose, and a beautiful one at that.

"Aeris," he said softly. He took the flower, his fingers tracing her hand as she took it. And suddenly she knew she had to tell him how she felt. But before she could open her mouth he had leaned forward and kissed her.

Aeis was surprised but before she could even respond he had pulled away.

"Always wanted to do that," he said while Aeris blushed furiously. "What's the matter? Your first?"

She shook her head, unable to look him in the eyes. She had not expected this, for him to return her feelings. She had just wanted to let him know. What should she say now?

"It looks beautiful. The church I mean," he commented.

"Thank you," she said softly. "I originally planned on using the City of the Ancients but this just seemed better at the last minute."

"The city would've been too big," Reno responded, remembering Reeves description of it. "Especially for just two people."

"Two?" she asked even though she had a fair idea of what he was talking about.

"Don't want me to leave, do you?"

She hesitated. "No, but like I said before, this is only temporary. You'll wake up."

He shrugged. "You think I can't come back? I'd be willing to. Life'd be pretty pointless without you anyway."

Aeris immediately shook her head. "Don't. You still have a life to live. Rude and Elena both need you. Besides… I waited for you for along time, even back when I was alive. I can wait a little longer."

"You really waited for me?"

"Ever since I heard you and Rude in Gongaga Jungle, no back in the church, I was curious about the Turks. It might have been love but I'm not quite sure. If it was then it was small at the time. I wanted to see you, even if it meant having to fight. So yes, I waited."

Her answer didn't seem to affect him too much. He still looked cocky but there was a small something that was different in his eyes. She couldn't place it though.

"I could wait, I guess," he said. "There was a part of me that didn't want to leave the other two anyway."

She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. It was an innocent peck but it distracted him long enough for her to playfully tackle him. He would go back soon and she would wait for him. But that didn't mean she would rush him to leave.

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Well, that's it. Hope everyone liked it.

Please review or the review bunnies will starve. Please think of the review bunnies.


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